A Bit Repetitious and a Bit Excited

Week #34

Good morning Vietnam or wherever else you might be!

I just found these two articles in LDS Newsroom. First, I love it when the Church keeps stressing one thing. It means the Lord thinks it's important. Second, I love it when the prophets are proven right. http://www.lds.org/church/news/hastening-the-work-of-salvation-is-more-than-a-catchphrase?lang=eng&cid=HPFR012414385&im=true

http://www.lds.org/church/news/research-supports-lds-dating-guidelines?lang=eng&cid=HPWE012214378

I do love that last line about this hastening of the work ranking with the First Vision and The Book of Mormon. This ranks with the appearance of The Father and The Son after 1400 years of silent heavens. Couple that with Doctrine and Covenants 60:2-3, which is speaking to missionaries specifically, and every member is called as a missionary. If we don't open our mouths the wrath of the Lord is kindled against us and what we have will be taken- our opportunities, our covenants, chances of Celestial Glory. What we have. Let's take part in this wonderful "Work of Salvation" and take care of ourselves while we're at it.

Just to make things fair. I haven't exactly had the easiest time opening my mouth here. Let's make this a collective goal. Here in the Porto Alegre North Mission, missionaries are expected to give at least 60 complete strangers the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Actually, that's what M. Russell Ballard said was a commandment of God. Sorry, that's 60 strangers per missionary per week. 120 new people every week and just two people. Imagine what a family of four can do already knowing the people they interact with. The work would truly hasten.

Happenings of the week. Lots of difficulty with lessons and even more getting people to keep appointments. It really is incredible (and incredibly sad) how many times an appointment is forgotten or canceled because of a family problem. They cancel the opportunity to hear the very Gospel that has saved countless families and souls. That's what happened this week, but we did find some interesting people because of it. Very promising. 

I've finally decided to spend the money to embrace a little Brazilian culture. I love chimarrão (mate for those of you who know it from Argentina or other Spanish speaking countries.)  I'm going to buy a cuia and bomba. That stuff is so good although the customs of how you drink it will probably make my medically minded mother and friends cringe. We kind of stop worrying about germs here. There's really no point. 

Oh yeah, we also climbed a large hill/small mountain today. That was fun. I didn't take my camera, but I'll try to get some pictures from the other elders and send them next week. It was very muddy, had lots of moderately sized spiders and felt like a jungle. Vines and everything. I kept thinking about Jurassic Park and knew that if a seemingly harmless dinosaur showed up, I was that guy you always know is going to die. It was fun and everybody survived.

Osorio from the top of the hill.

Jurassic Park

The missionaries +1

Time is almost up, as always. Time has a way of running out or running faster than you expected. For example, in two days I'll have spent 8 months on my mission. On February 12, I'll have spent three months in Brazil. In just a couple more months it will be winter here. 

Don't miss me too much and remember who you are. Just imagine that scene from Lion King when Mufasa appears in the sky. We are children of a King. If we forget who we are, we forget about our Father. That's not really healthy for the soul.

Love you all. Até mais.

Elder Dickson

Chimarrão

Baptism Week!

Week #33

Batismo Bom Dia/Tarde/Noite todo o mundo! 

Very good week. We had two baptisms!

Saturday Irma Rosa was baptized in a beautiful lake and yesterday so was Joao Batista. Yes that means John the Baptist. We taught and baptized John the Baptist. Foi muito legal. Pictures to come. The Japanese guy is the Branch President and the grumpy looking one is Joao. He was actually really happy that day, but I guess he just doesn't like pictures. I know that feeling. 

Ta bom entao. Que mais posso dizer? 

Suffice it to say that this week was crazy. Preparing the baptisms, working a lot with the Zone Leaders, and the members just to make everything happen. Very busy week.

Also, there have been a lot of fights with flip flops (thongs, sandals, whatever you call them). Here they're called chinelos and they almost count as a weapon. If you just bend down to take it off your foot, angry dogs leave very quickly. Children tend to behave a lot better too. You do not want Mom to take off her chinelo. Anyway, these last couple nights have turned into chinelo wars in the missionary apartment. Last night somebody even drew blood. Chinelos are dangerous. 

First photo in this email: Elder Day and Elder Lagos. American and Chilean. Both are trouble-makers. They're the ones that fight with the chinelos. Nobody ends up sleeping until about 11:00. It's funny, but I like to sleep too.

Now I don't know what else I have to say. Here are the pictures from Rosa's baptism. Elder Angus' camera has something weird with the lens. It doesn't like to open all the way. Let's just pretend the dark border is artistic. 

All right, time for my request. What's happening in your lives? It's weird, but I have no idea what anybody is doing. Who's getting married, going to college, moving states, doing really cool stuff. How the new Doctor is . . . 

Short one this week, but hey, four pictures. That's worth 4,000 words right?

Choose the right. Sing Primary Songs too. I love Primary Songs. They actually get better when you get older. Also, I'm learning guitar. I already learned four chords! Before long I'll be learning Brazilian music (it's a little different) and singing campfire songs around the churrascaria (it's basically a barbeque pit). 

Anyway, time is a little bit short today. Everything closes at lunchtime and we got here a little late today.

Tchau para voces. 

Elder Dickson

A Testimony From One of God's Faithful Servants

Week #32 

Amados Irmaos e Irmas,

I'm sure I would have had some wonderful message about following the commandments, but I just read in the LDS Newsroom that Utah just legalized same-sex marriage. First, I encourage everybody to heed the counsel of the Brethren on this. Their instructions are very clear and their counsel is the same as it has always been. The Lord's laws do not change with those of man. We respect and obey the laws of man, but we are not justified before God by them.

Now that I think about it, I suppose it is possible, though not likely, that there are people who do not share all of our beliefs and will see some part of what I write home. To those of you who fall into this category, first, welcome. Second, I am nobody special and my words frankly don't matter. I'm only delivering a message from God. As a missionary, this is what I am called and set-apart by Apostolic Keys to do. If I sound preachy, good, that is my calling. Please don't be offended for bold speech. I invite you to learn. There are many like myself all over the world and at least two have responsibility for the area in which you live. Seek them out.

To my family, friends, and other members of the Church whom I may not know, we are enjoying the fruits of and participating in a great and marvelous work, a work that the devil will do everything in his power to impede. The Gospel will go forth, but we are commanded to help. In fact, Preach My Gospel has a page full of quotes from every modern-day prophet up to President Hinckley emphasizing the importance of missionary work. 

Member missionary work did not start with the phrase "every member a missionary". The responsibility of those who have received the complete Gospel to share this pearl of great price began to be restored when the Prophet Joseph first saw our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. The Prophet states that even with just that first moment, before understanding the organization, without receiving authority of any kind, and with nothing more than a testimony of God the Father, that He felt as Paul when he testified before Herod Agrippa. From that time on, he was a witness to the world of the truth he had received. We are no different.

Just a little over a year ago,  President Monson called every member of the Church to work. Yes, the missionary age was lowered, yes Elder Perry announced the use of computers in missionary work and yes, there are now over 80,000 full-time missionaries already in the field. All of these things have happened. It would seem so easy to say, "Look how much the Lord is spreading His word," and sit back to enjoy the show. We cannot do this. Yes, there are now 30,000 more full-time missionaries than there have ever been, but in reality there are over 15,000,000. If there are only 80,000 people preaching the Gospel of Salvation in a world of approximately 7 billion, that 14,920,000 people who are not fulfilling their calling.

I am happy that this is not the case, but I believe the general mindset of the members of the Church is still skewed. In the royal army of The Lord, the missionaries are not the infantry. All we are really needed for is teaching, interviewing, and recording. We are assigned to help wards and members fulfill their responsibility. Please, make it easier.

This week was great. We had a lot of investigators at Church and we've met a lot of really wonderful people. People I really do love and want to see enter the Kingdom of God. It's amazing how sad we get when somebody doesn't come to church. Mom, I never knew loving somebody could make you so frustrated at them. Sorry.

I'll finish with my testimony. Please do not just read it as words on a page, but with all the energy you would hear in an address from Elder Holland. Testimonies are born from the energy of the soul and carried by the Spirit.

First, I know that God has given power to act in His name and perform the ordinances of salvation. I know that His Son organized only one Church that reflects the same organization of the eternities. I know that The Lord guides His true and living church through our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson. I know that the Prophet Joseph Smith received the keys of the Kingdom of God.

I know the field is white for the harvest. I know that this field means the entire world and not only portions of it. I know I have been called to thrust in with my might and testify that Jesus is Christ. I know He lives and is not silent. The heavens are not sealed. 

I urge you all to seek revelation you need for your daily lives. The Gospel is not part of our lives. It permeates every aspect. We are more than Sunday worshippers. We are the Lord's Elect. We are His servants. We are His children with the potential to receive all that He hath. 

Remember, in the onslaught of the world, we must stand in holy places. They are our refuges, our fortresses and, quite literally, our salvation. 

I cannot simply sign this with my name and so I leave this with you as my witness, very possibly before the world, in the name of Jesus Christ. 

Elder Dickson

Do You Believe In Miracles?

Week #31

This week was very strange. I know lots of stuff happened, but it feels like I was sitting at the computer just a few minutes ago. We'll see if I remember anything while typing.

We still haven't had a baptism here. We have a lot of good people coming to church, but the biggest difficulty is finding them at home. Most everyone walks everywhere and many of them have phones that only call one company. Have I also mentioned it's about 45 minutes from our apartment to most of our investigators? Somehow I still gained weight this week. I don't get it. Whatever, today is Super P-day. It's a good day.

P-dayzao (Super P-day): P-day that doesn't end at 6 like a normal P-day. The whole day. It's a wonderful day. We don't even know what to do with it.

This week, we did see something of a miracle. Saturday night, we were going to teach one of our investigators who is perfect except for always talking and telling stories. He loves coming to Church and I believe the veil is very thin for him. He usually attends all the churches he can, but this week was different. He told us that he was going to one of the Evangelical churches he usually attended and he got a very strong feeling that he shouldn't attend that meeting. He left that one and walked by another church he would normally attend and got the same feeling. This happened many times that night and eventually he returned home. When he got there, he felt that he should wait because the lord would send his servants there. Then we got there. It gets better.

Just after we arrive and before we've said more than a few sentences, a woman comes to ask our investigator for spiritual advice. He knows very little, but he is very powerful with that little knowledge. As far as I can tell, everybody in the neighborhood goes to him with questions. Anyway, she was asking questions about why God would allow her son to have mental issues and to struggle so much. I don't remember a lot of the details, but we explained some about the Plan of Salvation, after which she asked which church we were from. She then continued to express her distress about her son and continued for quite some time. I felt that we should offer the opportunity for her to receive a blessing. I've never done a blessing in Portuguese before, but we offered and explained that we had the authority to heal. We then followed her to her home and gave her son a blessing. I've never given such a simple blessing before, but never have I had to exercise so much faith before either (thank you foreign language).

I once heard it said that when we go to give a blessing of healing, our purpose is to heal that person. We need not wonder if it be the will of the Lord. We are entering their home to perform a miracle and, unless we feel otherwise impressed, we should pronounce a simple blessing of healing. Essentially, unless the Spirit says otherwise, we are to heal that person. I acted on that and didn't feel otherwise. I simply commanded him to be healed and closed the blessing. I thought of no other words. I don't know that we'll ever see the results, but I do believe that is the blessing I was to give.

Elder Angus mentioned that in these last few weeks he has had more opportunities to use the priesthood than any other transfer on his mission. Miracles happen here. 

Time to go. Goodbye all. Love you all. Look for miracles and opportunities to serve.

Elder Dickson

The New Year Has Begun

Week #30 (email from last week)

Elder Dickson was able to Skype home on Christmas Day. His family (especially Mom) was glad to see and talk to him.

Luke 22:32 "But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when though art converted, strength thy brethren."

Not much really happened this week. We talked to people and didn't teach very many lessons. Everybody is drunk around Christmas.

I got some really special emails today. I had to answer them. It took some time.

I had a really big beautiful email typed, but it didn't send or get saved and my time is up. Sorry.

Elder Dickson